Quote Originally Posted by Big D View Post
Vaan's other big purpose is to be a playable incarnation of an 'average person' caught up in Dalmasca's conflict. With the exception of Penelo, the other main characters are all rather extraordinary in their own right: Ashe is the fallen princess, Basch the condemned 'traitor', Baltheir the son of Archadia's mad genius and a former Judge. Vaan, though, is a lot more down-to-earth: a young Dalmascan, not a solider but still a victim of war, losing his only brother and his nation's freedom. As he starts to expand his horizons and realise his dreams over the course of the game, Dalmasca does too. In that way, Vaan allows us to see first-hand a nation's growth as well as a man's.
This is actually what I've been saying all along, partially. I've always interpreted Vaan as being transformed into the main character so the actual player could relate to him more than, say, Basch - he's just a young nobody wrapped up in the political warfare of Ivalice's huge world. Through his interaction with some of the characters more pivotal to the ongoing plot, he's able to partake an epic adventure and save a subjected kingdom.